Vegetable-cutter.



" 110.791.658. PATLNTBD JUNE 6,19o5.

" B. c. sTBPPENs. f

VBGETABLE CUTTER;

APPLICATION FILED JULY 21,'1904.

la snnnTs-BHLET a.

Patented June 6, 1905.

PATENT OFFICE.

BERTHOLD C. STEFFENS, OF MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN.

VEGETABLE-CUTTR.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 791,658, dated June 6, 1905.

i Application iiled July 2l, 1904. Serial No. 217,443.

To rtl?, whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, BERTHOLD C. STEFEENS, acitizen of the United States, and a resident of Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wisconsin, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Vegetable-Cutters; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description thereof.

My invention consists in certain peculiarities of construction and combination of parts hereinafter particularly set forth with reference to the accompanying drawings and subsequently claimed, the object of the invention being to provide simple, economical, and eliicient machines especially designed for rapid cutting of cabbage in the manufacture of sauer-krant,- cutting mechanism of the machines being adjustable to vary the thickness of the cut material.

Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings represent vertical sectional views of a machine in accordance with my invention; Fig. 3, a plan. View of a portion of the machine, partly in horizontal section; Fig. 4, a detail view of a portion of a partition and central guide in the machine; Fig. 5', a plan view of a fragment ofa follower element of the machine; Fig. 6, a plan view of a rotary cutter element of the machine inverted; Fig. 7, a sectional lview of.

a fragment of the cutter, the plane of this view being indicated by line 7 7 in Figs. l and 6; Fig. 8, an elevation .of a fragment of an arm of the follower, and Fig. 9 a perspective View of` a fragment of a horizontal barconstituting part of the machine.

Referring by letter to the drawings, A indicates'a portion of a stand constituting part of the herein-described machine.

upper head E, in which curved slots b are dis-` posed, as best shown in Fig. 6.

The shell D is supported by the gear-wheels B C, and

these wheels are disposed at suitable intervalsl apart.

The top of. the stand has a circular opening, and this` A spur-pinion F is fast on the arbor of the bevel gear-wheel B and in mesh with a spurwheel G, loose on a lateral stud 0 of an arm H, bolted or otherwise suitably secured to the stand aforesaid. Loose on another lateral stud of the arm H and a similar stud of an opposite arm I, l,attached to the stand A, are antifriction-rollers that oppose the upper side of the shell-flange D to insure continued meshing of the same with the 'bevel gearwheels aforesaid. VBolted or otherwise fastened to lateral lugs of the arms H I are ears e of a cylindrical receptacle J, and this receptacle is provided with feet f,'made fast to the stand above specified.

Adjustable on inclined` blocks g upon the under side of the head E of shell D are knives K, engagingthe slots in said head, and these knives are held in adjusted position by setscrews 71 that turn in the adjacent blocks, said screws being engaged with slots in said knives. Engaging a tapped recess in the butt of each knife is an adjusting-screw e', and a thumb-nut j on thescrew turns in space in' the Vadjacent block g, on which said knife is guided. 3

The driving-wheel Gr is turned by a crank or other suitable means and has a bevel pinionhub L, that meshes with a bevel gear-wheel M, adjustable on a shaft N, to which,it is rigidly secured in adjusted position by a setscrew 76, the bearings for said shaft being on a bar P over the receptacle J, central of the same. Depending from the ends of the bar P are vertically-slotted lugs m, having oset screw-threaded pin extensions n, that extend through `eyes p on the receptacle J, and engaging said pin extensions of the bar-lugs are nuts g above and below said eyes. By means of the nuts the vertical adjustment of the bar P is regulated, and headed guides r on ,the rewith the inner rack side of one of a pair of vertical arms S, that are joined at their upper ends, and extending in opposite directionsv IOO from the lower endV of each arm is a bar T in tongue-and-groove sliding connection with a center post U, that is stepped in a socket e on the head E of the shell D and provided with a iange w, that encircles said socket. The bars T extend transversely of the receptacle J, and hinged to these bars are segmental lids V, provided with hinged braces W, that have cross ends engageable with upper and lower notches in the arms S aforesaid, the play of said braces being between the arms and oset guides a: thereon longitudinally of the same.

The receptacle J is divided into compartments by a central vertical partition X, that extends in opposite directions from the center post U, and the lids Vtit in said compartments. These lids, their braces W, the bars T, and arms S, taken collectively, constitute a follower in the receptacle J, and the shell D, with its head E and knives K in conjunction therewith, constitute the rotary cutter of the machine, this cutter being the bottom of said receptacle.

To save time in lifting the follower, the pinion Q is adjusted out of engagement with the rack to which it is relative, and said follower being elevated as far as possible its hinged members are swung up and held in this position by their braces while the compartments of the stationary receptacle J are being filled with the material to be cut. A guide-lug y engages a groove z in one of the arms S of the follower.

The knives of the rotary cutter are adj usted for the required depth of cut, and the gearwheel M and horizontal shaft N are also adjusted to provide for proper meshing of said wheel with the one L of the driving-gear. The descent of the follower is in proportion to the reduction of the material in the receptacle J, the hinged members of said follower having been swung down and braced in horizontal position and the pinion Q engaged with the follower-rack. Hence it will be understood that there is positive feed at uniform speed.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A vegetable-cutter comprising astand, a cylindrical receptacle stationary on the stand, a rotary cutter constituting the bottom of the receptacle, a vertical center post and partition dividing said receptacle into compartments, a follower consisting of bars guided on said post, arms extending upward from the bars central of same and joined at their upper ends, the inner side of one of the arms being a rack, lids hinged to said bars, and braces that are hinged to the lids and have adjustable engagement with said arms; a shaft provided with a pinion that meshes with the rack, and gearing by which motion is imparted to the cutter and shaft.

2. A vegetable-cutter comprising a stand, a cylindrical receptacle stationary on the stand, a rotary cutter constituting` the bottoni of the receptacle and having adjustable knives, a vertical center post and partition dividing the receptacle into compartments, a follower consisting of bars guided on said post, arms extending upward from the bars and joined at their upper ends, the inner side of one of the arms being a rack, lids hinged to said bars, and braces that are hinged to the lids and have adjustable engagement with said arms; another bar vertically adjustable on the aforesaid reeeptacle between the follower-arms, a shaft having its bearings on the latter arm, a pinion adjustable on the shaft to be put in or out of mesh with the rack, a drive-wheel having a bevel gear-hub, gearing connecting the drive-wheel and said cutter, and a bevel gearwheel adjustable on said shaft and meshed with said drive-wheel hub.

In testimony that I claim.the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand, at Milwaukee, in the county of Milwaukee and State of Wiseonsin, in the presence of two witnesses.

B. C. STEFFENS.

Witnesses:

N. E. OLIPHANT, GEORGE FELBER. 

